Snakes & Lizards

Tasting the air

(ENG) Most snakes have an excellent sense of smell. Although snakes have nostrils, they also use their tongues to pick up the scent of nearby preys or predators. When a snake flicks its tongue, it collects odors that are present in miniscule moisture particles floating through the air. The snake darts the tongue into its Jacobson's organ, which is located inside the roof of the snake's mouth. The prongs of the forked tongue fit perfectly into the two holes in the Jacobson's organ, which is also known as the vomeronasal organ. After the tongue transfers the moisture-borne scent particles into the vomeronasal organ's opening, some of the chemical compounds they contain bind to the organ's receptor molecules. These receptors send sensory messages to the reptile's brain, which interprets the sensory information as a smell, such as the scent of a mouse.